Mayoral candidates offer stark, distinct choices

Analysis
For the first time in six years, voters in Concord will go to the polls on Nov. 6 and cast a vote for a new mayor. Mayor Mike Donovan decided earlier this summer to step down and two people have forwarded themselves as candidates. Mayor Pro-temp Jim Bouley and Councilor Kathy Rogers are the candidates running.

To voters the candidates may seem similar. Both Bouley and Rogers have served the eastern part of the city for long periods of time. Both could be characterized as having relatively liberal philosophies politically. Both have taken similar stands on issues which have come before the Council.

But that’s where the similarities end. One of the most important jobs the mayor performs is presiding over Council meetings. The way the two candidates have run meetings in the past and how they handle public relations are a stark contrast.

In the past, Bouley has presided over Council budget hearings and other meetings as Mayor Pro-temp, whenever Donovan was not able to attend. Bouley runs a steady meeting, allowing people to volunteer information which they feel is important to their points, without interruption. Whenever anyone, including his own colleagues, becomes a bit belligerent, he jumps in to avoid an escalation of conflict.

Bouley also seems like a contemplative thinker. He may not agree with a person but he listens with an open mind to what everyone has to say. In these days of divisive politics, that is a pretty good trait for a prospective mayor to have.

Juxtapose that with the way Rogers has presided over Rules Committee meetings as chairwoman. In those meetings, Rogers had a clearly held biased towards a certain outcome of the proceedings—the protection of the cable media access center where she hosts a program and has been reportedly given preferential treatment—a complete conflict of interest. Calling the Rules Committee, under Rogers’ management, a kangaroo court would be kind.

For example, during a meeting in 2006, Rogers allowed more than an hour of testimony attacking a resident who had brought legitimate concerns before the committee. The testimony, which could be better described as relentlessly personal attacks, bordered on slander and libel. Shockingly, the perpetrators were not contained by Rogers.

However, when others tried to counter the attacks with legitimate questions about the state’s open meeting laws and access to public records, Rogers cut the testimony off. She said the comments had no bearing on the questions at hand—even though the cable access media center has refused to abide by the law. The records, as was later noted, could have potentially proven the points of the petitioner.

But that isn’t where it ends.

After the meeting, the petitioner filed additional paperwork with Rogers and the committee. One of the documents proved that a former city councilor testifying during the committee hearing had not told the truth. Instead of considering the evidence provided—which proved the petitioner’s point—Rogers called the Concord Police Department and requested that a detective investigate how the petitioner obtained the document. As it turned out, the document was legally obtained from the city manager’s office. A simple phone call or email to the petitioner would have answered that question for Rogers. Instead of communicating openly and honestly with the resident, voter, and taxpayer, Rogers chose to target the person with a police investigation. It was a clear abuse of power, probably done to embarrass and humiliate the person she targeted.

A few months later, at a public forum hosted by the Council, a couple of residents brought up the issue of Rogers’ abuse of power and the fact that public records were still not available. But Mayor Donovan sloughed off their concerns and the Council sat silent. Rogers also sat silently, refusing to apologize to the targeted individual or, for that matter, the public, for wasting the taxpayer’s money on a bogus police investigation.

How Rogers dealt with these incidents and her role in the proceedings have led many to question her ability to lead the city as mayor. And voters are not the only ones questioning Rogers’ lack of leadership skills.

Last week, a press release was sent out by 10 of Rogers’ colleagues on the Council. In it, they openly endorsed Bouley. The only councilor backing Rogers is Ward 2 Councilor Bill Stetson, a retired firefighter and former board member of the cable access media center. Rogers has also received the endorsement of the firefighter and police unions. In a recent Concord Monitor article, Rogers claimed she was not getting support from her colleagues because she wants to force the Council to be more open.

But for all her talk about open communication, open records, open meetings, and open dialogue, as an elected official, Rogers has done the exact opposite.

In at-large City Council race, it’s insiders vs. newcomers

This year’s at-large Council race is shaping up to be an interesting one, pitting four relatively popular community leaders, who happen to be male, against two female newcomers.

The six people running for the two open at-large seats are Merwyn Bagan, Stacey Catucci, Marc Coen, Trisha Dionne, Al “Tinker” Foy and Rep. Steve Shurtleff. Coen is the only incumbent running. The second seat was held by the late Leonard “Red” Brochu, who passed away in June.

At a recent forum, the candidates introduced themselves to voters, and talked about the many issues facing Concord.

Bagan is a retired doctor who has lived in Concord for almost four decades. Since retiring in the mid-1990s, he has traveled abroad with his wife, Carol, caring for the sick in other countries. He has also served on numerous boards in the community, including the Friends of the Concord City Auditorium.

Catucci is a single mom with two children in the public schools. She recently moved to the city from Massachusetts but joked, “don’t hold that against me.” In a recent letter to the Concord Monitor she lamented the fact that the leadership of Concord seems to have its priorities wrong.

“Granite curbing, a dilapidated tannery, million-dollar roads to the hospital, studies that are not always used, speed calming devices placed and then ripped out, paying outside consultants to do the work of city-paid employees. Why are we spending money on these when there is no food on the table?” she wrote.

Coen is another long-time resident, having lived in Concord for about 35 years. He said his careers in business, including being president of Page Belting, allowed him to keep an eye on city monies.

“I understand revenue, I understand budgets, I understand expenses,” he said.

Dionne is an academic advisory to military-affiliated students at Southern New Hampshire University and a former hair stylist. She said that she liked the way the city feels and wanted to promote the concept of roundtable discussions and improved interactivity between residents and the Council.

Interestingly enough, at press time, she was the only candidate with a Web site, trishadionne.com. She was unable to attend the forum but introduced herself by way of an audio recording.

Foy was born and raised in Concord and has been active for years around the city. He said he would work to create more affordable housing in Concord, noting that the waiting list at the Concord Housing Authority is more than 400 people long.

Shurtleff was also born and raised in Concord. He has served as a U.S. Marshall, substitute teacher, and vice chairman of the Heritage Commission. He also represents Wards 1, 2, and 3 in the Legislature.

When asked about the city spending money on numerous studies and surveys, most of the candidates agreed that the line item should be eyed. Some also stated that there were many people in the community who had more knowledge about issues than hired consultants. Bagan said he often thinks that consultants produce the information that city officials want to hear.

Another big issue this year is funding for the library.

Bagan said it was an important institution for people who can’t afford to purchase books, magazines or newspapers.

Catucci said she thought there should be more interaction between the public schools and the library.

Shurtleff suggested moving the library to the Merrimack County courthouse building, which would increase the usable space of the library.

Foy questioned the cuts in the library services. He said the city has more than $36 million in investment funds but yet is only receiving 3.5 percent returns. He said city officials should look at the investment portfolio and free up some money.

The issue of the Council meeting outside the purview of the public was also raised.

Coen said the meetings are appropriate at certain times while Shurtleff said his experience serving on a special committee analyzing the Right-to-Know law would help lead to better government.

Foy said the private meetings should be limited to personnel issues while Bagan agreed, saying the Council needs to restructure the way it has public discussions.

Tight budgets over the last few years have been on the minds of both constituents and elected officials. When asked what they would do to raise more revenue, Foy again brought up the issue of the city’s investment portfolio. He said he would also look for more grant funding, private dollars, and outside sources of revenue, but would also figure out how to balance all the requests for services.

“You can’t have everything,” he added.

Bagan said he would like to try and have a revenue-neutral budget although admitted that it was not possible in every situation. He said he would monitor changes in how the city takes care of trash, noting that fees would be going up. He would like to increase recycling and create single-source containers.

Coen said creation of a master plan and clean energy initiatives could bring savings while Shurtleff said he would like to increase the tax base by creating new business.

“You need to figure out needs and if there is money left over, you decide your wants,” he said. Catucci also seeks to increase the business sector tax base.

“We have a wonderful community,” she said. “We have areas set aside to develop. We need to open our eyes and see what we are doing.”

The autonomy of the Concord School Board has become an issue in recent months mostly in the wake of the revelation that the department has been buying up homes around Kimball Elementary School at market rate prices. This has led to the speculation that the elementary school reconfiguration is a done deal. At the same time, school taxes continue to increase, with little regulation or restraint, according to some.

Bagan called the question of Council oversight of the School Board “loaded” and since he had not studied the issue, would not answer one way or the other.

Coen noted that the issue seems to surface every 10 to 15 years and, most recently, was rejected by voters. He said he was “surprised” by the property acquisitions but hoped for better public participation by the board.

Shurtleff said he would support a charter change to eliminate the School Board’s autonomy since they control 65 percent of the budget. He said he was surprised the board had $2 million on hand to buy property. He suggested that the board’s overall budget should be approved by the Council.

Catucci called the question a tough one but one that should be watched. She noted that since the city takes care of the school fields, maybe the Council should review the school budget.

Foy agreed with Shurtleff, saying the School Board should be more accountable to the Council.

If history is any measure, Concord voters have not been kind to outsiders running citywide campaigns for councilor, despite the creative, new ideas they have forwarded in their campaigns.

In the special election last year to fill the remaining term of Councilor Jim McGonigle, who resigned in disgrace after being charged with theft, six candidates faced off for the seat. One of them, Democrat Party insider Matt Newland, received the endorsement of the Concord Monitor and a number of the city’s political players. But with 51 percent turnout, it was Coen who bested Newland—and the rest of the field—handily.

In November 2005, the city elections were very low-key, with no mayoral contest. Long-time Councilor Dr. Douglas Black had considered not running for reelection. Former Republican City Committee head Jeff Newman, a candidate in 2003, and long-time resident Kris MacNeil entered the race, along with a few newcomers. Later, Black decided to run again and Merrimack County Attorney Dan St. Hilaire also jumped in. Both of the better known names—Black and St. Hilaire—won the day, with a paltry 13.8 percent turnout.

Editor's Note: This is a corrected version of a previously published story.

Eight candidates vie for School Board seats

A few days before the deadline, it looked like there would not be enough candidates running for School Board. But despite the late start, eight different members of the community will vie for three School Board seats on Nov. 6.

The candidates are Laura Bonk, Megan DeVorsey, Tim Patoine, Jennifer Patterson, Frank Rosano, Ralph Willette, Eric Williams, and Rick Watrous. DeVorsey is the only incumbent, seeking a second term on the board.

OurConcord.com tried to reach as many candidates as possible before press time to give them the opportunity to talk about their races. We were able to reach four of the candidates. Four others either had unlisted or disconnected phone numbers, or no accessible email addresses or Web presence.

If those candidates respond before Election Day, voters can read their information online at OurConcord.com.

Megan DeVorsey

DeVorsey said she learned a lot in her first term and wanted to return to continue the work she already started.

She said she was committed to preserving the excellence of the school system. She said she would like future negotiations between teachers and the administration to run smoother than previous years. She believed that teachers and staff wanted that too.

DeVorsey approves of the reorganization plan for the community’s elementary schools and would like to continue to work on the plan. She said she would like to work on long-term planning to improve education opportunities for all students.

In the future, DeVorsey would like to make sure the district continues to emphasize wellness. There is now a wellness policy, she said, where both teachers and students consider things in terms of wellness. She said Concord High School was tracking its wellness program and attempting to improve communications with the Internet, between home and school.

Tim Patoine

Patoine said he was running because he believes that a School Board that is elected at-large may not always have the interests of the entire city at heart. He said it isn’t a fair way of electing board members. Over the last 20 years, he has noticed that the majority of the elected members reside in Wards 5, 6, and 7. A few wards have never been represented, he said.

Patoine said with many expensive issues on the horizon, it was more important now than it has ever been to make sure that the people elected to the school board represent the needs of the many and not just the wants of the few.

The candidate described himself as accessible, noting that he is a part-time school bus driver working for the school system now. This allows him

to be in contact with parents, teachers, administrators, and students on a daily basis, he said.

For the last 20 years, Patoine has owned and operated a mobile disc jockey business which puts him in front of the public at more than 150 functions a year, he said, which makes him more accessible than any other board member. He said he would not be a vote that is lost in a boardroom to lobbyists, pressure or agendas. Patoine has two children in the public school system, at Rundlett and Conant.

Frank Rosano

Rosano said the big issues people are talking about are the School Board purchasing property without a public hearing and the board not being accountable to the public or the taxpayers. Now that the cat is out of the bag, they are trying to make excuses, he said. Everyone is absolutely irate about the situation, he said. He wondered what the board would do if they didn’t use the property. Rosano guessed that the board would probably take a loss on the purchases.

If elected, Rosano said he would work to preserve neighborhood schools. He said people don’t want to close the schools because they like being able to walk their kids to school. It would be the wrong thing to do. With the new plan, elementary students will have to be bused around the community, which is expensive, he said. The time spent on buses could be better spent on other things.

Rosano questioned the need to replace the older schools saying, Concord has a tendency to just get rid of the history and charm and all that they have. The community is too quick to decide to destroy without even thinking about anything, he said. The plan needs more time and thought, but they’ve already made up their minds, he said, they are just going through the motions. It doesn’t matter that hundreds of people don’t want it. And that’s disgusting.

Rosano would also like the board to give more respect to the teachers. He thinks they work very hard and are not treated well. Rosano said the day after a new contract is signed, he thinks the board should start working on the next one. These people put their lives on the line these days to educate our kids, he said. I don’t think they are getting the respect they deserve.

Rick Watrous

Watrous said his number one priority if elected would be to do what is best for Concord’s children. He would work on deciding whether to refurbish or close some of the city’s neighborhood schools. He said he would work to improve communication with Concord’s citizens and increase public involvement in the district’s decisions.

Watrous said negotiating a new teacher contract that is a win/win scenario would be a priority. He said the board should be concentrating on providing children with an excellent education.

Watrous believes that more public involvement and accountability is needed. He said it is vital that school district governance be open and accountable to the Concord public so that citizens have a say and can determine whether their money is being spent wisely on behalf of the city’s children’s education.

Watrous has two children in the public schools. He has been a Concord resident for more than 20 years and is a public school graduate himself, with a BA in Communications and a MA in Writing. He works as a Media Literacy Educator developing elementary and middle school curricula. He is also an adjunct instructor, author, involved citizen and community volunteer.

Laura Bonk, Jennifer Patterson, Eric Williams, and Ralph Willette will also appear on the ballot.

Heights’ Ward 8 is lone district race ‘Mr. Community’ vies for seat against senior activist

While the municipal election action has been focused on the mayor’s race, and crowded Council and School Board races, shockingly, only one of the 10 district council seats is being contested in the city of Concord. The District 8 seat on the Heights is being vacated by Jim Rowe.

In that race, retired senior citizen activist Ray LaGasse will face off against former Concord Monitor Town Crier and police dispatcher Dick Patten.

Neither is a stranger to community service. Patten has been a Supervisor of Checklists, host of “Around Town” on both radio and cable access, and

a 55 year resident of the Heights. LaGasse is a former state employee and was a member of the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance.

In running for the seat, LaGasse said he would like to promote three specific issues: Doing something creative with the property tax, expanding business and the tax base in the city, and addressing traffic management.

If elected, Patten said he would listen to the concerns of the Heights, study the important issues facing the neighborhoods, and preserve emergency services.

During a recent forum, both candidates agreed that traffic was the most important issue facing the ward.

“We still have not resolved the issues of Loudon Road,” said LaGasse. “Even though Regional Drive was created, the problem still remains.”

Patten agreed.

“Traffic is horrendous,” he said. “It’s congested. It will be my number one priority.”

When asked about the Garvin Falls urban reserve, Patten said he would worry about expanded business traffic but would like to see more jobs created in the area. He also said he thought a new senior center in the area would be a good idea.

“It has a lot of potential if done right,” he said.

LaGasse said he would like to see the city’s master plan completed first and also more affordable housing built in the Garvin Falls area.

When asked about all the money the city was spending on independent studies, LaGasse said looking at the expenditures was overdue.

“We do need careful planning,” he said. “But, I don’t know if we need to replicate surveys.”

Patten wondered why, with so much talent already employed by the city, there was a need for so much outside consulting and studies.

According to the Concord Monitor, the three public safety unions endorsed Patten in the Ward 8 race. In an unusual move, they also requested voters in Ward 4 write-in at-large Council candidate Trisha Dionne against incumbent Dick Lemieux.

Back to School at Walker

Walker Elementary School students were back in their own classrooms recently after major repairs were finally finished at the school. The issue of whether or not Concord’s school system should consolidate its elementary schools have been a hot topic during the last two years, including this year’s school board race. One side believes that the historic schools should be preserved, with a more intimate neighborhood setting. The other side believes that larger, more modern schools are more conducive to learning and success, with resources more fairly and evenly distributed throughout the system.

Red River Theatres!

Red River Theatres, the indie cinema recently constructed in downtown Concord, is slated to open next week. The 2008 Leadership Greater Concord class took a tour of the facility earlier today [I was the facilitator for the class this month]. So, I took some pictures. Enjoy. It will be open next week:

Welcome! Here is the lobby of Concord's new indie theatre.


Here is the 48-seat theatre which will host local films, events, and meetings.


During the tour, projectionists were testing the projectors in the 106-seat theatre.


Here is the large 165-seat theatre.

Well, my car brakes work ...

Late last night, on my way home, I took the more residential ride home from the highway and almost struck a deer. It was fairly large with no antlers so it was probably female. However, it was pretty big, at least three-plus feet high.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye and thought I wasn't seeing what I was seeing until it was right in front of my windshield looking at me. Deer in the headlines is a literal term, BTW. I hit the brakes, everything in the car went flying around, but the sound scared the deer enough to move to the side where I just missed her by inches. Thankfully, I was only going about 5 miles an hour above the speed limit and was wearing my safety belt. Otherwise, my brand new Honda Civic would probably be junk scrap and I'd be in the hospital.
Hilariously, my first instinct was to reach for my digital camera to get a picture of the deer but it was tucked away in my computer bag which was lodged beneath the passenger seat. Ah, always the reporter.
Since I know what it is like being in a car which has hit a deer before - my father-in-law and I hit one in upstate New York in September 2005 - you can imagine that I was a bit freaked out. It shook me up, you know, life flashing before your eyes stuff. But I was glad to get in the house, a little less than a half a mile later, to sit down for a few minutes. That was a close one.
So, a warning to everyone in New Hampshire, the deer are out there, especially at night. Be a bit more cautious in your driving and you won't hit them ... and hopefully, they won't hit you either.

Concord activists sign on to Edwards campaign

The John Edwards campaign announced that the following Concord residents have signed on to become city and town chairmen and chairwomen for the campaign:
Ward 1: Cynthia Oullette, educator
Ward 2: Donald Taylor, activist
Ward 3: Christine Miller, mental health professional
Ward 4: Christopher Seufert, attorney
Ward 5: Rob Werner, city councilor
Ward 6: Suzanne Amidon, activist
Ward 7: Rep. Don Brueggerman, state rep., small business owner
Ward 8: Ray Lacasse, senior citizen activist
Ward 9: Barbara Kuhlman Brown, former School Board member
Ward 10: Bill Noelte, activist

GraniteRoots for John Edwards

This afternoon, two young women [probably in college] canvassed my neighborhood handing out "GraniteRoots for John Edwards" packets, complete with a white spruce sapling, instructions on how to plant the baby tree, and a note from the state campaign director, Beth Leonard.
In the note, she requests assistance for the campaign:

Change often starts with just one person. Growing a forest can start in a very similar way - with a single tree. With this gift of a seedling, I want to ask for your help in bringing about the change our country needs. Our campaign is planting the seeds of change in New Hampshire one neighborhood at a time.

Leonard calls on voters to plant the tree and "watch it grow strong and tall" and help the campaign create the change needed to build One America.
This is a very clever campaign promotion, especially in my relatively politically liberal city neighborhood. I've lost the exact count, but I think this is the fourth time the Edwards campaign has been by the house doorknocking or leafleting. Obama has been by twice and Clinton has been by once. None of the other candidates have been by ... and there are Republicans in my neighborhood, too!

The view from Capital Commons

A.G. Edwards & Sons, the financial firm with a slew of local offices worldwide, held an open house at their new Concord office on the top floor of the new multi-million dollar Capital Commons office complex. It was an all day affair, complete with munchies, soda and friendly conversation from those who bothered to stop by and check the place out. I took the opportunity to drop in and see my tax dollars at work, since tax increment financing, or TIF, helped fund the $14 million parking garage as well as the property tax waivers, set asides, and bargain basement price for the lot, which were given to the developer to construct the project.
Three quick things on the positive side: The building is beautiful, the views are spectacular [see more pictures and video online at OurConcord.com], and it is great to see the old hole that was there for years finally filled. It is also great to see the new movie theatre coming along.
The bad news? Well, according to the entrance ledger, at least two floors are empty. The restaurant space, a major component of the project, is also empty. The Concord Monitor has a story about the restaurant space here: ["At Commons, eatery still vacant"].

There were rumors that Tio Juan's Margarita's, currently housed on Warren Street in the old city jail, was going to move into the space. This reportedly irked the owners of Hermano's, another Mexican restaurant. The restaurant has had to bear the brunt of the construction project – dealing with the constant noise, having most of its parking lot consumed by construction equipment, etc. Hermano's has reportedly been barely hanging on, thanks mostly to the loyal clientele who have supported it through the inconvenience. A new Mexican restaurant just a block away would surely be the end of the long-time, local-owned and operated establishment. When the rumors began flying about Margarita's, it also ticked off taxpayers who were told that they would be getting a new food choice at the location - not an old one that would abandon an already shaky Bicentennial Square. Now they're talking about a food court? We're losing millions in set aside tax revenue for this? Hello, Eagle Square anyone? There used to be this fancy food court with small shops down at the Eagle Square plaza. During the recession of the late 1970s, early 1980s, the federal government pumped millions and millions into reconstructing old buildings like the Eagle Square plaza, in an effort to preserve all the old buildings. Everyone raved about how the project was going to be the salvation of downtown. Well, it wasn't. They did a great job on the construction and it was well-worth the money to preserve the buildings. But in typical Concord fashion, its eyes were bigger than its stomach. The downtown food court/mall concept was a complete disaster. The businesses quickly went under after the Legislative session ended in 1984. The spaces were quickly converted into a historical museum, a law firm, and a cluster of small offices and non-profits. So much for saving the downtown.

Speaking of TIFs for a moment, it is interesting to note that if one were to add up all the lost property tax revenue due to the current TIF bonds which are outstanding, they would find that it comes pretty close to the amount of a budget deficit the city had last year. Gee, I wonder why? Now, we have the Capital Commons project. Is this all going to turn out like one of those other failed promises of the past? As developer Michael Simchik said in the Concord Monitor article, it took him 16 months to fill up his last project. With a plummeting real estate and construction market, who knows what will happen now. We should probably all be patient and hope for the best. But, at the same time, the building might actually have been built too large for its size. It is a disappointment, for example, that the building blocks the gorgeous state Capital building, gateway to the city, while approaching the city from I-93 north. At night, it is unnerving. This is also, as Alan Hershlag noted before the building was constructed, a zoning violation. Scoff, who cares about the zoning laws. Whatever happens, our community really needs to learn to take those small steps first, instead of always taking the big grand ones. We might find that we will be more financially secure and just as happy. Here are the video and pictures:

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this post has been corrected.